Additives are commonly sold in combination with bottled water. Currently marketed examples include energy, or health, drinks, where the additive is provided in solution form. Other examples include a medication where the bottled water is supplied simply as a convenience for washing down a pill or a capsule.
In particular instances involving nutritional supplements, however, it is useful to supply the supplement in solid dosage form, similar to the medication example. Doing so improves the shelf stability of a natural active ingredient, and particularly one of a biological derivation, which might otherwise degrade or lose potency over time when in dissolution.
In contrast with the medication circumstance, however, the water is not just a convenience for administering the dosage. It is also a measured amount of ingredient required for the best metabolic results. Therefore, the means for combining the two components into a single package is an important aspect of the product put-up.
The bottle closure typically provides such means in the prior art. For example, in U.S. Patent Application 2003/0000910 to Jang, a cap to a water bottle contains a compartment for the dosage. The compartment is closed with a separate cap, which may be attached by a hinge. Such a device does not selectively dispense a dosage, however.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,797 to Palomo discloses a dispensing cap for a pill bottle, but two hands are required for manipulating it. Furthermore, the device would not be compatible with a screw-threaded neck finish, such as that typically found on stock water bottles. U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,942 to Deacon teaches a single-hand dispensing mode using a roller-type mechanism, but Deacon, as in the other references above, does not provide a safety feature for the prevention of tampering.
The prior art is missing a dispensing cap capable of single-handed operation which protects its solid dosage contents both from handling damage and from tampering.